Brasília - Life expectancy for blacks in Brazil is seven years less than for whites, according to Fernanda Lopes, researcher and coordinator of the Health Component of the Program to Combat Institutional Racism.

A survey released in January, 2003, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) indicates that, for the Brazilian population as a whole, life expectancy is 71 years.

"Compared to whites, blacks die prematurely from almost every kind of disorder. Black men and women expect to live less than whites in Brazil," she affirmed yesterday (19), in Brasília, at the National Seminar on the Health of the Black Population. According to her, the only group whose life span is shorter are the Indians, who live 9 years less.

For Lopes, poverty, racism, poor living conditions, and inadequate housing, work, and sanitation are only some of the most frequent causes of low life expectancy. She also points to difficulties in access to information and quality healthcare.

According to the researcher, the World Health Organization (WHO) regards these causes of death as "avoidable." "They are respiratory and contagious parasitic diseases that could be prevented, if decent living conditions or prenatal care of good quality existed and the specific needs of black, generally poor, women were considered," she said.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Christiane Peres
Translator: David Silberstein
08/20/2004